Short version. Both are AGPL-3.0 and self-hostable. Fleetbase is a logistics operations suite — orders, dispatch, routing, PHP — with telematics as one module. Routly is fleet telemetry and the commercial layer on it. If you move parcels, Fleetbase; if you watch vehicles, Routly.
If you have been searching for self-hosted fleet software you have met Fleetbase. Same licence as us, same self-hostable premise, same objection to per-vehicle fees. They are a serious project and this is not a hit piece. The two answer different questions, and knowing which question is yours saves a month.
The short version
Fleetbase is a logistics operations suite. Orders, dispatch, routing, drivers, a storefront layer — modular, self-hostable, AGPL-3.0, free from per-driver fees. Telematics is one module among several. If the thing you run is deliveries, it is built for you.
Routly is fleet telemetry and the commercial layer on it. Where the vehicles are, what trips they made, what fuel they burned, who drove how, and reports that go to a customer with that customer’s logo on them. No order management, no dispatch, no routing.
The question that separates them: are you moving parcels, or are you watching vehicles?
What each is actually for
| Fleetbase | Routly | |
|---|---|---|
| Centre of gravity | Orders and dispatch | Positions and what they imply |
| Licence | AGPL-3.0 | AGPL-3.0, or commercial |
| Order management | Yes | No |
| Route optimisation | Yes | No |
| Dispatch and driver app | Yes | Mobile app for fleet visibility |
| Live map | Yes | Yes |
| Trip classification | — | Business, personal, commute |
| Fuel drain detection | — | Rule-based, tunable |
| Driver behaviour scoring | — | Weighted, per component |
| Scheduled reports by email | — | CSV, Excel, PDF |
| Telemetry ingest | Its own | Flespi, Traccar, any JSON webhook |
| Telemetry store | Application database | Separate ClickHouse |
| Multi-tenant with per-customer branding | Modular | Built in, reports carry each customer’s logo |
Read the last four rows together and the difference in intent shows. Fleetbase is built out horizontally, module by module, to cover more of a logistics operation. Routly is built down vertically into one thing: telemetry that a telematics business can sell.
When to choose Fleetbase
Plainly, because sending you to the wrong tool wastes your time and eventually our reputation:
- Your business is deliveries or field service, and orders, dispatch and routing are the core rather than an add-on.
- You want a modular platform you will extend across several logistics functions.
- You need a driver-facing app for job execution, not just fleet visibility.
- You are starting from no telematics infrastructure and want one system to do everything.
When to choose Routly
- Your business is fleet operations or selling telematics, and the questions are where, what happened, what it cost and who drove.
- You already have a device gateway — Flespi, Traccar, a manufacturer’s platform — and want the application layer above it rather than a replacement for it.
- You are a provider with customers to isolate, and you need per-customer report branding rather than one tenant per deployment.
- The features that decide it are fuel-loss detection, driver scoring and scheduled reporting.
- You are leaving Wialon and want a path that does not touch a tracker.
Where they actually differ architecturally
Two decisions have consequences worth knowing about.
Ingest. Routly deliberately has no device protocol decoders. It reads from Flespi, from Traccar, or from any gateway that can POST JSON — three paths, all in the repository. That is a limitation and a feature: it means we will never compete with Traccar’s two hundred protocols, and it means adopting Routly does not mean re-pointing a single device.
Storage. Positions go to a separate columnar store rather than the application database, at about nineteen bytes each. That is an operational cost — a second database to run — bought in exchange for a position history that does not weigh on the transactional side. For a delivery operation whose position volume is modest, that trade is not obviously worth it. For a telematics provider whose position volume is the product, it is.
The licences are identical, which matters more than it sounds
Both are AGPL-3.0, so the same clause applies to both: modify it, offer it to others over a network, and you publish your modifications. If you intend to resell either one under your own name with your own integrations, read what AGPL means commercially before you build.
Where we differ is what happens next. Routly has a commercial licence that removes the disclosure obligation and adds warranty, indemnity and support — the three things a reselling business ends up needing on paper. Check whether the alternative you are weighing offers an equivalent, because “AGPL and that is all” is a viable business model and a very different one to plan around.
Frequently asked
Can I run both?
In principle yes — Fleetbase for orders, Routly for telemetry, with a shared gateway feeding positions to both. Whether two systems is better than one imperfect one is a judgement about your team, not about the software.
Which has the bigger community?
Fleetbase is the more visible open-source project by some distance, and community size is a real factor when you are self-hosting. Weigh it honestly: a larger community means more answers to your questions, and it is a legitimate reason to choose them.
Is this comparison biased?
We build one of them, so obviously. The way to discount for that is to check the claims: our side is all in a public demo with no account required, and theirs is on their own site. Where we have said Fleetbase does something better, we mean it.
What if neither fits?
Then the honest answer is Traccar plus your own reporting, or a hosted platform if the arithmetic in the cost worksheet says a subscription wins for your fleet size.
